Please Register / Login to take part in discussions about the Virgin Islands.
Any recommendations?
I have a friend that is arriving via ATA in San Juan at 10:55pm. Arriving at that hour they will miss the last flight we can find to St Thomas (8pm ish). First available flight early the next morning.
1. To save money can one just overnight it in a chair at the San Juan airport - or ?
2. On the return their is a Cape Air flight that leaves STT at 6:15am - (arrives what 30 minutes later???) Would this possibly allow enough time to catch the return ATA flight that leaves at 7:45am.........or are they spending a second overnight at the airport?
3. I guess part of the questions answer here is in the reliablity of Cape Air to stick to their scheduled departure time???? and the amount of time to get between it's arrival gate and the ATA departure gate. Is the San Juan airport like huge and they would have trouble getting between gates in time?????
Thanks, they look forward to your best travel advice.
There is a hotel in the airport in San Juan, but yes, they could just overnight it in a chair. However, pretty much all of the restaurants close late at night, so I don't think that is the best option.
2. Are they checking baggage? If the Cape Air and ATA segments are on the same ticket, they should be able to check baggage all the way through (check the Cape Air website - www.flycapeair.com, they have a list of airlines they have baggage agreements with). If the segments are not on the same ticket and they are checking bags, they will have to collect them in San Juan before proceeding to ATA. This may pose a problem: they will be cutting close if in 50-60 minutes, they need to: get off the plane in San Juan, collect the bags from Cape Air, have the bags checked by the US Dept of Agriculture (about a minute, usually), wait in the check-in line at ATA and go through security again. It will be in their interests to have both segments on the same ticket if they are checking bags.
3. I've only flown Cape Air a couple times, but I hear that they have an excellent on-time performance record. The San Juan airport is big, but navigable. The ATA and Cape Air gates are either in the same terminal or in nearby terminals. There is no complicated process in switching terminals, you just keep walking (no trains like in Miami). The airport is easy to navigate, and you should get from Cape Air to ATA in no time.
Spending a night in the San Juan airport would be boring.
Everything, bar, restaruants and shops close down by 9 PM, perhaps a little latter for the snack bar down by the American Eagle gates.
IMHO you need to allow two hours to safely make connections if your luggage isn't checked straight through.
Things usually run OK in San Juan, but when they are bad like during peak travel periods the can really be screwed up.
Jim
We stayed in the San Juan Airport Best Western overnight 2 weeks ago and were very pleased.
45 minutes is not enough time to get from the Cape Air ramps to any airline. Especially if you have to check in at the ticket counter. And you do have to go through security. Trust me on this.
